Signal for choke-control devices and the like



R. H. BELL April 7, 1931.

SIGNAL FOR CHOKE CONTROL DEVICES AND THE LIKE Filed March 11, 1929 h a an I I n I Patented Apr. 7, 1931 UNlTE Df 'SyT'ATES PATENT; OFFICE RAY H.LL, or DENVERQCOLQBADO, AssIGnoitf'ro nu'rocnoxn SI NAL, 11m, or

, nENv mcoLoRAno, aconronnrron or COLORADO V SIGNAL FOR CHOKE-CONTROLDEVICES AND THE LlIKE Application fi led March 11,

This invention relates to improvements in devices 1 for operatingcarburetor chokes and the'like andsignals for use therewith.

Automobiles employing internal combustion engines'asthe motive power areprovided with carburetors in which the liquid fuel is converted into afine spray and mixed with air. When the engines are cold, they require avery richmixture for starting, but when they are warmed up, the mixturecan be very I lean. It is customary to' adju'st the carbu retors so thatthey give thebest results when the engine'is hot and therefore, unlesssome means is provided for enriching the mixture when the engine isstarted,:it is very difiicult to start the engine;

Carburetors are provlded with means for restricting the.entranceofairwhich means are usually referred to as 'chokers, and asthechoker is located at some distance from the place where the driver sits,it is usually con-* nected to the dash by means which is accessible fromthe drivers seat and byimeans of which the choker. valve can be. openedand closed. When the choker valve is closed, a very rich mixture isdelivered to the engine and although this isdesirable forstarting, it isvery detrimental to the engine and to the Eappear as the descriptionproceeds are at-] lubricant if the mixture is retaine'din rich conditionfor any I considerable length of time. It is customary to provide-chokeroperating means located on the dash and which, when pulled forwardly,will close the choker valve and retain it in closed position until themeans is moved in the reverse direction; It often happens that thedriver forgets to. a open the choker valve and that a large amount ofgasoline is' sucked intothe engine and abig proportion of this flowsdownwardly into the crank case and mixes with the'lubricating oil tosuch an extent'that its lubricating properties are destroyed, with; theresult that bearings often become worn outdue to -this dilution. i 3 rIt is the object of this invention to produce an improvedmeans foroperating the" choke valve of a carburetor which shall be so constructedthat it will operate asignal as, for example, a lamp, when .thechoker'valve is 1 1929: Serial No 345,953,

closed and which will maintain this signal 1n; operative condition untilthe choke valveisentirely open.

It is the further objectof this invention to produce a device of thistype which shall be so constructed that it can be very easily attachedto the dash of an automobile, or to 7 duce a device of'this type havinga circuit control means located at the front of the support so that theparts thereof can be made readily accessible and which obviates-all:dan-

er of igniting explosive gases which might 3 so as to illuminatetheinterior of the car floor.

The above and other objects which may tained by means of a constructionandan arrangement of parts which willnow be described in detail,reference for this pur-. .pose beinghad to the accompanying draw- I ingin which the preferred embodiment of Fig. 1 is a "Fig.2 is asectionsimilar to that shown in position;

Flg. 3 1s a transverse sectlon taken on l1ne 33, Fig. 1; and

" Fig. 4 is a new partly in section showing a. slightlymodified form ofthe invention.

'In the drawingreference numeral 1 represents the dash or apart of theinstrument board of an automobile, and may, of course represent anysuitable support. The sup e'present at therear of the dash and under.neath the engine hood.

port 1 has an opening 2 through which the tubular bearing 3 extends.Member 3 is provided at its front end with external threads 4 with whichthe nuts 5 and 6 cooperate to hold it in place on member 1. The rear endof member 3 is crimped about the end of a flexible tube 7 as indicatedat 8. An ornamental washer or a plate which has been designated byreference numeral 9 is placed between the bottom of nut 6 and the frontsurface of the support 1 and serves as a washer and also gives the partsa more finished appearance. Nut' 6 is provided with a central recess oropening 10 of somewhat larger diameter than the outside of member 3 fora purpose which will hereinafter appear. Slidably mounted within member3 is a hollow tube or rod 11 The front end of this rod has a threadedsection 12 to which the hollow handle 13 is attached in the mannershown. The rear end of rod 11 is provided with an annular depression 14which is adapted to be engaged by the inwardly extending projection 15on member 3. Member 3 is also provided with a longitudinal slot 16 andmember 11 has a grommet 17, the outer end of which is'located in theslot 16 and serves to prevent member 11 from rotating within member 3,and also serves as a stop to limit the relative longitudinal movement ofthese two members. An insulated electrical conductor 18, extendsinwardly through the opening in the grommet and has its front endconnected with,

the electrical contact 19, which is carried by an insulating bushing 20located in the front end of member 11. to the rear end of member 11 andextends through the flexible tube 7 to the choke valve or to any otherapparatus that isto be operated. The handle 13 is provided withdiametrically opposite slots 22, through which the lugs 23 of theyoke-member 24 extends. This yoke member has a central opening 25through which the central terminal 26 of the lamp projects. The base 27of the lamp is in electrical contact with yoke member 24 and with theconducting port-ions of the device. A spring 28 is located between theend of tube 11 and the adjacent surface of yoke member 24 and exerts aforce thereon tending to move it forwardly within the handle.

inner surface of the lens 30 and is under compression so that it exertsa force tending to move the lamp and the yoke member towards the contact19. Spring'29 is much stronger than spring 28 and therefore overcomesthe latter and normally holds the lugs 23 in engagement with the lowerends of slots 22. The parts are so adjusted that the center terminal 26of the lamp will contact with the insulated contact 19 before the lugs33 reach the bottom of slots 22 so that the A wire 21 is attached'Another spring 29 is located be tween the front end of the lamp and the]lamp will not be prevented from coming into electrical contact with thewire 18. When the handle and tube 11 are pulled forwardly to theposition shown in Fig. 1, contacts 11 and 26 will be in electricalcommunication with each other and since the shell 27 of the lamp isgrounded to the metal structure of the device, it is evident thatcurrent will be flowing through the lamp when the parts are in thisposition. When the handle and member 11 are moved rearwardly to theposition shown in Fig. 2, the lugs 23 will be engaged by the fron'tendof nut 6 and the center terminal of the lamp separated from theinsulated contact, thereby breaking the circuit to the lamp, which willtherefore become dark. lVhen the parts are in the position shown in Fig.2, the projection 15 registers with the depression 14 in member 11 andserves as a stop for a friction device which holds the parts ininoperative position. The necessity for this detent arises from the factthat spring 29 exerts a force tending to pull member 11 forwardly andunless the detent is employed, the vibrations of the automobile and theaction of spring 29 cooperate to move the lamp terminal 26 intoengagement with the insulated contact 19.

In Fig. 4 a slightly modified form of the 9 invention has beenillustrated. In this form the lamp has been omitted and the yoke 24 hasbeen modified by the addition of a center contact 26a and the opening 25has been omitted. The yoke member has been designat'ed by 24a in Fig. 4.WVhen the parts are in the position shown in this figure, the end ofconductor 18 is grounded and obviously when the parts are moved back tothe position shown in Fig. 2, contacts 19 and 26a willbe separated.These parts now function as a switch and with this modifiedconstruction, the signal lamp which has been designated by 270 can beplacedat any convenient point and connected in series with the conductor18 in the manner shown. The cover 31 that encloses the lamp is providedwith a slot in its lower surface which corresponds to slot 32 in handle13. WVhen the lamp is illuminated, light will be projected through theslot onto the floor of the car. The 'device provided with the switchillustrated in Fig. 4, corresponds in every particularto the deviceshown in Figs. 1 and 2 with the exception of the location of the lamp,andtherefore, isincluded in this invention.

Although this invention has been described in connection with the chokevalve of a carburetor, it is evident that it can be employed for manyother purposes, as, for example, for controlling the louvers or shuttersof a radiator protector, and in fact for any purpose where somemechanism is to be operated at-a distance ,and I therefore do not limitmy- 7 self to any particular use of this invention,

In the embodiment illustrated, the outer end of the handle is shown asclosed by means of a transparent or translucent lens 30, which is heldin place by a ring 33 having a bezel 34 in which the lens sets. Thislens may be of any shape desired and may be replaced by solid materialhaving stencilledopenings therein. 7

Attention is again directed to the advantage of having this switch orcircuit controlling mechanism located at the front of the support asthis makes it possible to inspect the parts and they are also protectedagainst accidental injury and against the effect of dirt and dust moreeffectively than if they were located at the rear of the support. Thefact that nut 6 can be removed from the front end of member 3 greatlysimplifies the installation of the device and it also makes it possibleto quickly detach the parts if for any reason this should be necessary.

This invention is similar to the one illustrat'ed and claimed in mycopending application, Serial No. 331,584, filed January 10, 1929, andas a continuation in part of those features that are common to the twodevices.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is: v

1. A warning signal for a choker operating device for a gasolinecarburetor, or the like, comprising, in combination, a hollow rod tooperate a choker, a tubular bearing through which the rod extends andwith respect to which it is longitudinally movable, an electricconductor extending through the hollow rodvand terminating in anelectric contact at the front end thereof, means for insulating thecontact fr omvthe rod, a hollow handle secured to the frontend of therod, a lamp located within the hollow handle and movable longitudinallytherein, means comprising a spring for urging the lamp rearwardly andinto contact with the insulated contact and means for overcoming theaction of the spring and for moving the lamp out of engagement with theinsulated contact when the hollow rod is moved to its rearmost position.

through which the rod extends and with respect to which it islongitudinally movable, an. electric conductor extending through thehollow rod and terminating in an electric contact at the front endthereof, means for insulating the contact from the rod, a hollow handlesecured to the front end of the rod, a lamp located. within the hollowhandle and V movable longitudinally therein, a yoke located in thehollow handle, said yoke having a central opening and two diametricallyextending lugs, the handle having two diametrically located slots forthe reception of the lugs, aspring located between the yoke and the endof the hollow rod, the lamp having its base provided with a centralinsulated terminal which extends through the opening in the yoke, asecond spring engaging the end of the lamp globe, said last named springbeing stronger than the first named spring whereby the latter will beovercome by the former and will move the lamp terminal into contact withthe insulated contact when the hollow rod is moved forwardly and meansfor moving the lamp terminal out of contact with the insulated contactwhen the hollow rod is moved to its rearmost position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

' RAY H. BELL.

A warning signal. for a choker operating device for a gasolinecarburetor, or the like, comprising, in combination, a hollow rod tooperate a choker, a tubular bearing through which the rod extends'andwith respect to which it is longitudinally movable, an electricconductor extending through the hollow rod and terminating in anelectric contact at the front end thereof, means for insulating thecontact from the rod, a hollow handle secured to the front end of therod, a lamp located within the hollow handle and movable longitudinallytherein, means comprising a spring for urging the lamp rearwardly andinto contact with the insulated contact, means for overcoming the actionof

